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Colin Brennan
Colin Eugene Brennan (b. 21 October 1959) is a Georgeland politician who has been Chief Minister of Delmago Island since 2018. He is a member and the state leader of the Georgeland Alliance, and represents the constituency of Central North in the Legislature of Delmago Island. A journalist and teacher by trade, Brennan entered state politics in 2007 and became Chief Minister after his party gained a majority on the floor of the legislature. He was re-elected to office in 2019. In addition to Chief Minister, Brennan holds the portfolios of Attorney-General, Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Minister for Urban Services and Minister for Planning & Development in his government. Early life and education Brennan was born and raised in Huzzah. His father, John Brennan, was an Irish migrant and police officer who arrived after World War II; his mother, Catherine, was a nuclear chemist. The Brennans separated in 1964, and their three children were raised by their mother alone until she committed suicide in 1970. Brennan, aged ten at the time, was then sent to live with his grandmother, and finally raised by his elder sister and her partner. The family was not able to afford much formal education after 1970, and Brennan was mostly home-schooled until much later. Brennan discovered a talent for writing at an early age and in 1976 went to work as a cadet journalist at the Huzzah Evening Post. ''He subsequently worked for a number of local publications before accepting a job as an assistant editor at the Doubledance Times ''in 1991. In 1994 he moved with his partner to Delmago Island and began teaching journalism at the University of Georgetown part-time. From 1998 to 2002, Brennan worked part-time while studying for a communications degree, but dropped out when he was offered a full-time position as Communications Director for the local branch of the Conservative Party, which he had joined in 1980. He served in this capacity until 2006, when he broke with the Tories over their support for the Iraq War and their opposition to the Families Act which legalised same-sex marriage. Brennan had long been a supporter of LGBT rights as his two sisters both came out in school. Political career State legislature In 2007, Brennan was selected to contest the upcoming state election for the Alliance, which he joined upon leaving the Tories. He was elected to the seat of North Central, and was the only Alliance member of the Assembly. Due to the Tory government's majority of one, Brennan was asked to become Speaker by Chief Minister Daniel Mahoney, and accepted. As Speaker, Brennan took impartiality seriously, and at the 2010 election, while he was an Alliance candidate, he refused to act as a party spokesman. He was re-elected at the 2010 poll and joined by one other Alliance legislator, Liz Buckley. Alliance leadership At the 2010 election, the government won eight of the thirteen seats, and Brennan was not re-elected as Speaker. He became the Alliance's formal leader in Delmago Island, with Buckley his deputy. During the 2010-13 session, the Alliance twiced moved legislation to replace the first-past-the-post electoral system with a proportional system for legislative elections, but both bills were defeated. Brennan and the Alliance also strongly opposed the Mahoney Conservative government's changes to state pensions, while advocating for a lower state tax rate. In 2013, Brennan was again re-elected, but Buckley was defeated. Two other Alliance candidates were elected - Tallulah Robinson and Gertie Ramos. The three Alliance members controlled the balance of power in the chamber following the 2013 election, which elected five Liberal Democrats and five Conservatives. Brennan agreed to a confidence-and-supply agreement with the Conservatives and once again became Speaker of the Legislature, remaining the party's official leader while Robinson deputised for him on party matters. At the 2016 election, the Liberal Democrats and Tories won four seats each. The Alliance continued to hold three seats, with one independent and one seat held by the National Front. Brennan negotiated an agreement with LDP leader Mike Socic under which Socic would head a coalition LDP/Alliance government. Brennan became Deputy Chief Minister to Socic, as well as Minister for Urban Services and Minister for Health and Social Services. Under the Socic/Brennan government, the Electoral Act was passed which replaced the first-past-the-post system with a new, preferential voting system, and committed to a referendum on a full proportional system by 2022. Liberal Democrat Robin Owen, member for Georgetown North, resigned from the legislature on 17 February 2018. At the by-election for his seat, Independent Ulysees Dianotoumos was elected, reducing the Liberal Democrats to three seats, equal to the Alliance. Chief Minister (2018-) On 4 June 2018, Speaker Janelle Simms, elected as an Independent, announced she was joining the Georgeland Alliance. This gave the Alliance four seats to the LDP's three. The four Alliance members then voted to renegotiate the coalition agreement with the LDP. The next day, Socic resigned, having been unable to secure terms to remain in office, and advised the governor, Narelle Steiner, to appoint Brennan in his place. 2019 election Brennan led the Alliance into the state election of 2019. With the collapse of the Conservatives, some of their former legislators including Dahlia Stewart and Jane Keller ran, and were elected, as Alliance candidates. The Alliance won a majority, with seven seats out of thirteen. However, they won only 22% of the primary vote, the lowest-ever vote share by any winning party in Georgeland. After the election, Brennan announced a further reform to the electoral system to give future governments a genuine mandate, and introduced a bill to elect the next legislature, from 2022, by proportional representation. In March 2019, Governor Narelle Steiner resigned over allegations she used her position to influence lega action against family members. The Brennan government appointed Michael Walker, previously Governor from 1998-2008, as her successor. On 6 December 2019, the Alliance government voted to require all recognised Oppositions in the legislature to have four members, stripping the National Front (which had two) of the title and resources. Personal life and interests Brennan's domestic partner is Sandra King (b. 1972), whom he started dating in the 1990s. The couple have a son, Stephen Brennan-King (b. 1998). His elder sister is LGBT activist Geraldine Brennan and his younger sister is musician Felicity Brennan. Brennan is a keen amateur boxer and motorist, and participates in charity boxing matches and races. In 2015 he participated in the Delmago Island Grand Prix and finished 8th in a field of 19. Brennan is Roman Catholic but describes himself as "not particularly religious".